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AFP
Kano
Gunmen on motorcycles killed dozens of people in a string of attacks on villages in the restive northwest of Nigeria, as the authorities struggle to curb the violence.
Gangs of armed criminals -- known locally as “bandits -- raided five villages close to the border with Niger in Sokoto state late Wednesday, officials said.
Lawal Kakale, a local traditional leader in Sabon Birni district, said the death toll had risen to 74 from an earlier figure of 60 as more bodies were recovered in the villages.
“We recovered 25 corpses in Garki, 13 in Dan Aduwa, 25 in Kuzari, seven in Katuma and four in Masawa,” he told AFP.
“People fled in all directions and were pursued by the attackers. So, the corpses were scattered.”
Medics at the nearby hospital said they initially received 60 corpses with gunshot wounds in the wake of the assaults.
“All the bodies had bullet wounds, most of them were shot in the head,” a medic said.
Sokoto state governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said the attack by “hundreds” of gunmen came as a “rude shock” as security officials had recently visited the area to try to calm tensions.
Kano
Gunmen on motorcycles killed dozens of people in a string of attacks on villages in the restive northwest of Nigeria, as the authorities struggle to curb the violence.
Gangs of armed criminals -- known locally as “bandits -- raided five villages close to the border with Niger in Sokoto state late Wednesday, officials said.
Lawal Kakale, a local traditional leader in Sabon Birni district, said the death toll had risen to 74 from an earlier figure of 60 as more bodies were recovered in the villages.
“We recovered 25 corpses in Garki, 13 in Dan Aduwa, 25 in Kuzari, seven in Katuma and four in Masawa,” he told AFP.
“People fled in all directions and were pursued by the attackers. So, the corpses were scattered.”
Medics at the nearby hospital said they initially received 60 corpses with gunshot wounds in the wake of the assaults.
“All the bodies had bullet wounds, most of them were shot in the head,” a medic said.
Sokoto state governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said the attack by “hundreds” of gunmen came as a “rude shock” as security officials had recently visited the area to try to calm tensions.
